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Wednesday, December 01, 2010

How to Make Chicken Stock

(Updated December 2010 - When I had my blog re-designed, I knew it would throw off the formatting in some early posts, and when I opened this post yesterday, it was clear it needed a make-over! If anyone sees other posts that look odd, please leave a comment and I'll fix them as soon as I can.)

I'm a bit of a chicken stock fanatic. If you came to my house, I'll usually have at least 10 containers of chicken stock in the freezer, despite the fact that I use it all the time. I'm religious about saving scraps, chicken carcasses and leftover veggies, and make stock at least once every month. If you ask me, homemade chicken stock is a wonderful thing!

To make chicken stock, start with scraps of chicken or chicken carcasses, which I freeze until I'm ready to use them. (Save them up in the freezer until you have enough to make a big batch of stock.)

You also need onions, celery, and carrots. If you have any veggies that are past their prime, this is the perfect use for them.

If you're going to make stock often, you might want to invest in a tool like this which is called a "stock skimmer." It's used from skimming off the foam from stock while it's cooking. I also use it to scoop out the cooked vegetables when I'm discarding them.

Put the chicken scraps, onions, celery, and carrots in a huge stock pot with water. Let it cook all day at a very low simmer, adding water whenever it gets low.

I often use a little bit of chicken soup base to add more flavor to the stock. (Do NOT use bouillon cubes, they are way too salty.) I like this brand so much, I made it one of my Kalyn's Kitchen Picks.

After the stock has cooked all day (or at least for a few hours, I usually reduce it by about 1/3 before I scoop out the vegetables and discard them.

When you're through cooking it, remove the meat and veggies and strain the stock somehow. I use a yogurt strainer and a fat separator, which removes the fat by taking the liquid off the bottom. Any fine strainer will work. You can also remove the fat by cooling the stock.

Now you have delicious chicken stock ready to put in the freezer and which can be used in a huge variety of dishes. If you're wondering why I don't label the containers, it's because I label my beef stock, turkey stock, and ham stock, and leave the chicken stock without a label, since I make it the most.

To find all the recipes where I've used homemade chicken stock, just enter the words "chicken stock" in the search box located in the top right corner. Enjoy!

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46 comments:

Vanessa - you can just keep reducing the stock, until it is quite dense. Makes it easier to store.

One trick that my mom has taught me over the years is to not drain off the fat. Let the chicken fat solidify, forming a layer on top of the stock. This layer of fat acts as a natural protector from the air that houses bacteria. You can prolong the life of your stock by bringing the whole thing to a boil for 10 minutes every few days, again, letting it cool with that protective layer.

When you go to use the stock, just lift up the layer of fat to remove the stock. You can always save that fat for cooking.

I've discovered another method for chicken stock that works quite well, using chicken backs and wing tips, have posted here.

Sorry I left a too long link, Kalyn. (I don't use IE so didn't know what might happen I can't remember now exactly what I said nor what I linked to. But I think it might have been about vegetable stock.

We usually don't simmer vegetable stock for longer than an hour because it can get an overstewed bitter taste if the vegetables are overcooked.

And we don't roast the vegetables first (although that might be delicious too....) so our vegetable stock is fat free.

Don't you just love the smell of the kitchen when there is stock is simmering?

My end goal was to make chicken stock. I have never done this--or anything like this, for that matter--before. Kalyn's instuction was very straightforward without dumbing things down and my stock turned out beautifully! I can hardly believe that I made this, as I would not consider myself a wonderful cook by any means. I will have to test the stock in a recipe and see how it fares, but it certainly looks and smells like the real deal as of now.

Does this mean you can't leave the house all day? i mean, is it safe to leave while your stove is on to run an errand, or how do you manage it? I'm a working mom, so while I kindof like the idea of staying home all day and reading or gardening, there are always errands I need to do, and my daughter can get bored with no company! Ideas?

Amy, I start it in the morning and if I have to go somewhere I just turn the stove off while I'm gone, then turn back on when I get home. You can also make stock in a crockpot, then transfer to a stockpot and cook it down after it's simmered for most of the day.

Here's my great tip for freezing chicken stock: I use freezer ziploc bags and I fill the bags with the chicken stock and mark how many cups of stock is in each bag. I then lay the filled ziploc bags flat on the cookie sheet and I put them in the freezer. Once frozen, I take them off the cookie sheet and I can stand them up or lay them on top of each other and they don't take up as much space as the tupperware bowls. It works great and I can write on the bags exactly what is in the bag and how much stock is in each bag. Happy cooking.

I am enjoying your site and though I'd add my 2 cents about your chicken stock. I have used the ice cube tray to freeze chicken stock. Each cube represents 1 package of bouillon. Also, you could buy a big bag of chicken wings to make stock with, if you are starting from scratch. I usually purchase boneless, skinless breast for eating so don't have scraps left over. I hope these tips help.

I've been wanting a yogurt strainer like the one you show here. I notice you didn't suggest using it for the Tzatzaki recipe (ca. 2007-2009). Do you still have it? What company made your strainer (e.g., brand name)?

I really appreciate your blog as I'm new to South Beach and need all the ideas I can find. Thank you!

I've had the yogurt strainer for about 15 years, and there is no brand name on it, so I can't tell you that. I think I bought it at one of those kitchen discount stores but can't remember for sure. I would work to strain the yogurt for Taztziki too, but most people probably don't have one.

Desertplantlady, can you tell me what browser and operating system you're using so I can tell my web designer. (I'm able to search just fine, so it must be an isolated problem but we definitely want to fix it.)

I usually save the bones, gristle and skin in the freezer. Using a crockpot works for me so I can let it cook 24-48 hours until the bones fall apart when I squish them. Then I use the solid matter for dog food after I strain out the broth. It is easier to let the fat rise to the top and skim it off later.

The chicken feet advice is fabulous! They provide more gelatin in the broth, which is a very beneficial nutrient. Some people get weirded out by chicken feet but I think it is respectful to the animal to use every part - especially when it improves the broth so much.

I read somewhere a long time ago that a little acid like vinegar or lemon juice in the beginning draws out more minerals from the bones. It doesn't affect the flavor.

I used to always save onion tops, onion skin and old celery in the freezer for broth. It was a tip from the 1980's PBS cooking show, Frugal Gourmet. Recently I have been making it with no vegetables at all. I like the flavor better. It is pure chicken.

I love making and having stock on hand. Chicken and turkey stocks are staples here. I treated myself to a pressure cooker and it makes the best beef stock.

Stock never lasts long here. It's soup or gravy base, for cooking rice or in sauces....it's always time to nmake another batch of stock.

@Elise- The fat trick works beautifully. I worked breifly for a restaurant and thier method was to bring the stock to a boil and then simmer it for 3-5 minutes. That reduces bacteria or any pathogens that might be found in the liquid.

I'm in your camp as far as saving all the scraps for stock. Whenever I have extra leek ends, parsley, celery tops, or vegetables I didn't get around to cooking, I freeze them for stocks and soups. I just make sure to wash them all so I can just throw them in the pot when I'm ready. Homemade stock is so much better than store bought.

I'm a chicken soup fanatic too and also make it at least once a month, although I cannot imagine adding any chicken stock base to mine. Why add all that crap to great home-made soup? hydrolyzed soy protein? dried whey? Ummm...no.

I do always add chicken feet. they give it richness and body and tons of flavor. And no corn syrup solids.

Hi Karen,Re the the Search Function:No, it's still a "dead" zone for me. The other links in the header work, but I cannot even select the search function to type out a word. It does not act like a link at all.

Sorry, should have mentioned, to answer your previous question about browser and OS, I use Google Chrome and have Windows XP professional with Service Pack 3 installed. And was able to search without issue on your previous design.

Desertplantlady, I had my web designer re-code it since the previous comment, and we had multiple people test and they all said it's working fine. I thought it was fixed, so now I'm confused when you say "It doesn't act like a link at all." The search bar shouldn't act like a link.

Can you write back and tell me exactly what happens when you click your curser into the white bar and then type in a word?

Anonymous and Desertplantlady, Jennette has tested the search bar with every combination of browser and operating system, and we're not able to duplicate the problem. Can you e-mail me and tell me exactly what happens when you try to search? (kalynskitchen-at-comcast-dot-net.)

Christina, I'm not sure, although I think some of the yellow color of my stock is from the Better Than Bouillon chicken flavor base, which is slightly yellow. Carrots probably add to the color too, as well as cooking the stock down. Mainly though I'd say if the stock has a good flavor, dont' worry about it.

Great tips - I am just making some chicken stock now with the chicken carcass from our roast dinner tonight. Wish I had a huge freezer to store containers and containers of stock! We sometimes double up our balcony as a fridge in the winter but could do with an extra freezer!

Monicqa, I do have an extra freezer, which is very nice. But if you're limited on room in the freezer you can reduce the stock (until it's much stronger than you'd want when you use it) then just add water to it when you thaw.

Thanks for joining the conversation! I love hearing from readers and even though I can't always reply to every comment, I will always answer specific questions on a recipe as soon as possible. Sometimes I'm answering by iPhone, so my replies may be short!

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